In the same interview Shinkai explained: “There is… the factor of eras: When he began making anime, it was during the time of rapid economic growth in Japan, and I think he felt his films had the power to change the world.” Miyazaki’s world is usually fantastical and imagined while many of Shinkai’s stories and settings tend to be based on the real world. In the case of “Your Name,” Shinkai had been writing the screenplay since spring of 2014.Īnother fundamental difference is that Shinkai and Miyazaki have different target audiences and messages. Shinkai on the other hand would have a very complete story board and even voice over the characters himself.

Miyazaki’s works tend to have a focus on a character’s journey, and he does not have the story finished and ready when the production starts. Stylistically, the two have different approaches to a film. However, Shinkai himself, in an interview with The Hollywood Reporter, said that “I don’t there is anyone who can make films like him. In other words, each frame of the film is hand drawn.īoth Shinkai and Miyazaki excel at eliciting emotions from their audiences and pay meticulous attention to details - all Miyazaki characters have their own habits and unique quirks, and Shinkai’s backgrounds are breathtaking with an emphasis on the usage of light. Like Studio Ghibli, Shinkai and his team uses the traditional animation method. “Your Name” is story about a countryside girl Mitsuha, who helps run the family shrine, meeting an ordinary Tokyo boy Taki, who aspires to be an architect, through a series of mysterious but purposeful body swapping in their dreams. With a high audience approval rate and positive critical reception, the director of the animated feature, Makoto Shinkai, has been praised and even dubbed as the “New Miyazaki” of his generation of filmmakers.

The 2016 Japanese animated film “君の名は” (Kimi No Na Wa) or “Your Name” has topped the renowned Japanese director Hayao Miyazaki’s “Spirited Away” as the world’s highest grossing film of all time with a total of $353,754,471 as of April 26, 2017.Ĭritically acclaimed, “Your Name” has a 98% Fresh rating on Rotten Tomatoes and has been released in select theaters in the United States since April 7 this year.

Kimi no na wa ghibli